Foldable Structure for Portable Devices

ABSTRACT

A foldable structure for the support and use of portable devices is presented. The structure is attached to the rear side of a portable device or as a part of the device case. When the structure is unfolded, it rests flat in the indented area at the rear side of a portable device or the device case without changing the look and feel of the device. When the structure is folded, it forms a grip or device support stand to augment the functionality and usefulness of the portable device.

FIELD OF THE DESCRIBED EMBODIMENTS

The described embodiments are generally to be used with portable devices, which include, but are not limited to, iPhone, iPad, Android based phone or tablet, Windows' based phone or tablet PC and e-Book readers. The present embodiments describe the foldable structure in various shapes for portable devices.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Portable devices such as iPad, Android tablet, e-book reader or any hand hold electronic devices have become very popular products for consumer use. Many uses involve holding such a device with one hand and operating the touch screen with another hand. There are a few problems with such normal usage:

-   -   a) The holding hand needs to grasp the edge of a device, which         induces hand fatigue.     -   b) The holding hand needs to balance the device in order to let         the other hand touch the screen and read the content, which is         difficult to maintain for extended periods.     -   c) The holding hand may touch the screen, which would interfere         with the function of the device as the device would respond to         the holding hand as opposed to the hand used to manipulate the         screen. As a result, the wrong screen or frozen screen occurs.     -   d) To avoid interference of the holding hand, more valuable         space must be allocated at the top, bottom and each side of the         portable device's front panel. It is an unfavorable solution as         it adds size, but no further function to the device. The size of         these devices, to maximize portability is usually designed to be         minimized.

Several solutions proposed to solve above problems are listed as follows

-   -   U.S. Pat. No. 6,726,070, Ergonomic input-device holder     -   U.S. Pat. No. 8,672,374, Hand holder for tablet computer     -   U.S. Pat. No. 20120025684 Mobile electronic device positioning         unit

All these inventions provide either grip or stand functions for the portable device, but not both. One kind of solution is the hand band. The band structure does aid in holding the device. The shortcoming is that it is still uncomfortable to hold a device especially when the device is large (above 8 inch). The requirement for the position change and hand twists and the position adjustment still cause fatigue after some time. The best solution is still the hand holder. The hand holder provides the most reliable holding method since hand holders are located at the center gravity of the device. The hand, fingers and grip are all in the most stable and ergonomic position. Unfortunately, current solutions of the hand holder all require separate components or a complex structure. Those solutions have common disadvantages as follows

-   -   a) Additional elements are required to be attached to a portable         device, which require extra effort to carry, and         install/dismount whenever using it. Some design proposals are         very complex and difficult to implement.     -   b) Most of hand holder solutions can provide only a limited         function.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides the compact structure and convenient functions to hold a portable device and support the device stand. The extended benefit of this invention is to maximize the utilization of the front panel of the portable device. The structure is created at the rear side of a portable device or the device case without any separate components. The structure may be composed of one or more foldable pieces. Each piece is composed of one or more geometric elements or compartments. Those foldable pieces have an unfolded position and folded position. When these pieces are unfolded, they rest in the indent area at the rear of a portable device or the device case. When these pieces are folded and attached to each other, they form a 3D geometric frame as a handle or a device stand to provide useful functions. To secure the 3D geometric frame and stabilize the structure, different interlocking techniques can be used based on the frame shape and materials used in the foldable pieces.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will be readily understood by the following detailed description in conjunction with accompanying drawings, wherein reference numerals designate structural elements, and in which:

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view, on which a portable device with the handle of a rectangular prism is held by a hand in accordance with described embodiments.

FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of a device, wherein a portable device with the foldable handle in the shape of a rectangular prism in accordance with described embodiments.

FIG. 3 shows a side view of an embodiment of FIG. 1 and FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 shows a top view of the embodiment of FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 with two foldable pieces in the unfolded position.

FIG. 5 shows a top view of the embodiment of FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 with two foldable pieces in the half opened position.

FIG. 6 shows a top view of the embodiment of FIG. 1 and -FIG. 2 with two foldable pieces in the fully opened position and attached to each other.

FIG. 6A shows the exploded view of the indented slop that facilitates opening the foldable piece from the indented area by a finger.

FIG. 6B shows the section view of the indented slop that facilitates opening the foldable piece from the indented area by a finger.

FIG. 7 shows a side view of the embodiment of FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 with two foldable pieces in the unfolded position.

FIG. 7A shows the sectional view of the base panel with one side of a foldable piece.

FIG. 7B shows the exploded top view of the anchor component, which is designed to secure foldable pieces.

FIG. 7C shows the exploded side view of the anchor component, which is designed to secure foldable pieces.

FIG. 8 shows the interlocking mechanism of the embodiment in detail. The 3D geographic frame—rectangular prim shape is formed after two foldable pieces and the anchor component are interlocked.

FIG. 8A shows the decomposition of two foldable pieces and the anchor component before they are attached together with the interlocking mechanism.

FIG. 8B shows one foldable piece with interlocking edges at each side.

FIG. 8C shows the top view of the rectangular prism formed.

FIG. 8D shows the side view of the rectangular prism formed and the interlocking result.

FIGS. 9A-C show another alternative design of the embodiment with a 3D geographic frame formed in a hexagonal prism shape.

FIG. 9A shows the top view of the embodiment. This structure has one anchor component with two folded pieces are in the closed position. Each of two folded pieces has three geographic elements in the rectangular shape.

FIG. 9B shows a side view of the embodiment with two folded pieces in the half open position.

FIG. 9C shows a side view of the embodiment with two folded pieces in the fully opened position. The two folded pieces are attached each other and formed the 3D frame in a hexagonal prism shape.

FIGS. 10A-C show another alternative design of the embodiment with a 3D geographic frame formed in a square-based pyramidal section shape.

FIG. 10A shows a top view of the embodiment with an anchor in a square prism shape and two folded pieces in the closed position. Each of the two folding pieces has two trapezoidal elements.

FIG. 10B shows a side view of the embodiment with two folded pieces in the half folded position.

FIG. 10C shows a side view of the embodiment with two folded pieces in the fully folded position. The two folded pieces are attached each other and form the 3D frame in the shape of a pyramidal section.

FIGS. 11A-C show another alternative design of the embodiment with a 3D geographic frame formed in a section of a triangle-based pyramid with a vase neck shape at top for easier grip.

FIG. 11A shows a top view of the embodiment with three folded pieces in the closed position. Each of the foldable pieces has a trapezoid shape with a curve at the inner side.

FIG. 11B shows a side view of the embodiment with three folded pieces in the half open position.

FIG. 11C shows a side view of the embodiment with three folded pieces in the fully folded position. The three folded pieces are attached to each other and form the 3D frame in a vase shape for easier grip.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE SELECTED EMBODIMENTS

This paper describes various embodiments that relate to the foldable structure and apparatus based on design preferences, aesthetics and materials used. Reference will be made in detail to representative embodiments illustrated in the accompanying drawings. It should be understood that the following descriptions are not intended to limit the embodiments to one preferred embodiment. On the contrary, it is intended to cover alternatives, modifications, and equivalents as can be included within the spirit and scope of the described embodiments as defined by the appended claims.

The following description relates in general to the foldable structures that can be used to form a 3D geographic frame that serves the purpose of a handheld grip and device support leg at the rear side of any portal device. The phrase “base panel” will be used in the following detailed description to refer “the rear side of a portal device or the device case” or any “attachable plate” at the back of such device or device cover since there is no difference in technique whether the portable structure is on the portable device itself or on the device case or any kind of attachable plates.

One embodiment of the invention is shown in FIGS. 1-2, with the visual effects of a handheld grip and a device stand based on a foldable structure. In this specific example, the foldable structured is constructed by using plastic material. There are two foldable pieces, 2 and 3, with a symmetric and rectangular shape attached to the base panel. Two foldable pieces rest in the indented area at the base panel 1 in FIG. 3. To make sure the foldable pieces rest evenly and tightly, the foldable pieces have a smooth edge meeting the edge of the indented area FIG. 7A. The other alternative is to use the interlocking mechanism with a male-female cap between the base panel and the bottom side of the foldable pieces (not shown). In other embodiments, the foldable pieces may not necessarily sit flush with the base panel.

When the foldable pieces rest in the indented area, they are almost unnoticeable except for the edges. Illustrated in FIG. 4 and FIG. 6, two small indented slopes 1 a and 1 b on the base panel facilitate a user to open the foldable structure by a finger. Partial view FIG. 6A and section view FIG. 6B show the detail structure of the slowly indented slope 1 a. After two foldable pieces are lifted from the indented area 1 a and 1 b, they can be folded based upon the shape of geometric elements. In this case, there are two rectangular elements for each foldable piece, namely 2 a, 2 b for the foldable piece 2 and 3 a, 3 b for the foldable piece 3.

FIG. 4 shows the foldable pieces in the unfolded position. The element 2 a of the foldable piece 2 has a permanent attachment 2 aa to the base panel. The element 3 a of the foldable piece 3 also has a permanent 3 aa attachment to the base panel with the same structure as 2 aa. Those permanent attachments can be implemented by various folding mechanisms available. It can be implemented by a hinge if metal is used for the foldable piece. It can also be implemented by conjoining two components with a flexible thin layer in the direct molding method. In this case, all components in the foldable structure can be molded together if a flexible and durable material is used, such as plastic or other artificial polymer materials. 2 c in FIG. 7A shows the result of a direct molding technique. FIG. 8C shows the result after foldable pieces 2 and 3 being folded along folding lines 2 c and 3 c.

The elements 2 b and 3 b have no other attachments to any other component in the foldable structure other than to 2 and 3, respectively. They are free to fold and form the 3D frame with elements 2 a, 2 b and 3 a, 3 b together showed in FIG. 5. When the two pieces 2 and 3 are folded, they can be attached to each other to form a rectangular prism normal to the base panel as illustrated in FIG. 6.

To secure the rectangular prism, the interlocking mechanism needs to be used. Various interlocking methods are available for such a purpose. FIG. 8 shows one specific interlocking mechanism. FIGS. 8A-D shows the detailed structure, components and one particular interlocking technique used in this example case by interlocking 2 bb with 3 ab and tab with 3 bb in the same manner. The anchor structure 4 is designed to further stabilize the 3D geographic frame by supporting the frame at the attachment area between the foldable pieces and the base panel. There are two pins on the anchor, which can interlock two foldable pieces 2 and 3 through the security slot 2 ba with the security pin 4 b in FIG. 7B and the security slot 3 ba with the security pin 4 a in FIG. 7B. The anchor 4 can be attached to the base panel by molding pins, a strong glue or even molded directly to the base panel during the manufacturing process.

FIGS. 9A, 9B and 9C show another embodiment of the present invention wherein the foldable structure was constructed by two foldable pieces. Each piece is constructed by molding three elements side by side. All elements are symmetric and rectangular. When two foldable pieces are fully folded, attached together and secured by the interlocking mechanism with raised anchor, a hexagonal prism frame is formed in the middle of and normal to the base panel.

FIGS. 10A, 10B and 10C show another embodiment of the present invention wherein the foldable structure was constructed by two foldable pieces. Each piece is constructed by molding two elements side by side. All elements are symmetric and trapezoidal. When the two foldable pieces are fully folded, attached together and secured by the interlocking mechanism with raised anchor, a section of a square-based pyramid is formed. This frame is more stable due to the pyramidal structure in the middle of and normal to the base panel.

FIGS. 11A, 11B and 11C show another embodiment of the present invention wherein the foldable structure was constructed by three foldable pieces. All three pieces are symmetric and trapezoidal shape with a curved cutout. When the three pieces are fully folded, attached together and secured by the interlocking mechanism, a vase shape with a triangle pyramid base is formed in the middle of and normal to the base panel. It is a stable structure with an ergonomic grip and attractive aesthetics.

The similar methods can be used to form any 3-dimensional shape such as a pentagonal prism or octagonal prism, any pyramids or cylinders. They are not listed here since the technique and elements required are the same or very similar. In general, the pyramid structure is more stable in terms of the physical characteristics. However, such structure has a slanted surface and may be slippery. To prevent the slippage, a curve on top of each foldable piece can constructed.

Having now described some illustrative embodiments of the invention, it should be apparent to those skilled in the art that the foregoing is illustrative and not limiting, having been presented by way of example. In particular, although many of the examples presented herein involve specific combinations of methodology or elements, it is understood that those methods and those elements may be combined in other ways to accomplish the same objectives. Specifically, the 3D geographic frame formed by the foldable pieces from the base panel is not necessarily normal to the base panel. The location of the formed 3D geographic structure is not necessarily located in the middle of the base panel either. Methods, elements and features discussed only in connection with one embodiment are not intended to be excluded from a similar role in other embodiments. 

I claim:
 1. A foldable structure at the rear side of a portable device or the device case is presented in this invention.
 2. The structure according to claim 1, wherein foldable pieces are attached to the base on the rear side of a portable device or the device case in a flat shape at closed position.
 3. The structure according to claims 1 and 2, wherein those foldable pieces can be opened and attached to each other with interlocking components. Those foldable pieces can be formed into a 3D geometric frame as a polygon. The 3D geometric frame can be used as a hand grip or a device stand. The shape of the 3D geometric frame can be changed when the shape of foldable pieces are molded differently.
 4. The structure according to claims 1, 2 and 3, wherein those foldable pieces can be made in metal or plastic or other artificial polymer material. 